Philippians 1:9,10 - And this I pray...that you may be sincere...
In the profession of a stone mason, the craftsman may once in awhile strike the stone in a wrong manner and thus create a flaw in his work. If he is a bona fide artisan, he will simply start over. If however he is half-hearted in his ethics, he may try to "patch" the flaw with a little wax. Once the wax hardens, it would be virtually invisible to the untrained eye...except on a really sunny day. Just as soon as the heat sets in good on that wax, it will begin to melt and thus reveal that the carving was not in truth what it had appeared to be.
The word "sincere" means literally "to be without wax"; and here in our text, Paul prays that the believers in Philippi will be "without wax", that they will always be in truth what they seem to be and that there will never be a part of their heart that they reserve in secret for themselves alone while the other part of their heart is given to God and their brethren. This latter condition is of course called hypocrisy - when what appears is not what really is.
Besides the quality of faith, if there is anything that God requires in order to walk with Him, it is sincerity. GOD WANTS US TO BE REAL...or better yet...TO BE REALLY AND COMPLETELY HIS!
Genesis 6:9 - Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.
Genesis 17:1 - The Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him "I am the Almighty God; walk before me and be thou perfect."
These two men were certainly far from being "flawless" (as some take the word "perfect" to mean); but they were REAL with God - there was no passion, desire or any part of their heart held back from Him!
Deuteronomy 4:29 - But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with ALL thy heart and with ALL thy soul.
"...ALL thy heart..." The bottom line in walking with God is not a condition where we will never fail again; but it is keeping ALL of our heart before God and belonging to God!
When I was in my twenties, I went on a hunting trip with some brethren out in the woods of northeast Mississippi. Our number was divided between some older, experienced hunters and some younger, unseasoned "deer chasers". As we quietly plodded along a certain trail with our guns resting back on our shoulders, one of the older gents up front slyly whispered
"Got your safety on, Brother Jay (what I was called back then)?"
There could then be heard a slight "click" coming from my direction, followed by my reply
"Oh, yes sir...always got that safety on."
Can you say "wax-covered hypocrite"? By close observation, I had learned how to mimic the walk of those experienced hunters, possibly fooling my peers; but the shrewdness of that "real McCoy" veteran of the woods melted the wax of my disguise and revealed a "green horn" just trying to fit in!
Ananias and Sapphira were not wholehearted with the Holy Ghost, and it cost them their lives (Acts 5). Paul feared for the Corinthian believers that they would be corrupted from the "simplicity" (singleness, wholehearted devotion to Jesus that has no competitors) that is in Christ (II Corinthians 11:3). Christ Himself commanded in Matthew 5:48...that word again was "commanded"...that we be perfect (wholeheartedly devoted) even as our Father which is in heaven is perfect (wholeheartedly devoted)!
Weaknesses and yet-to-be-refined flaws all included, GOD WANTS US TO BE REAL WITH HIM AND REALLY HIS...or simply said...sincerely perfect!
No comments:
Post a Comment